You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2007.
tomorrow we go to Namibia, I say that and its wierd because then the trip does start to draw to a close, less than 3 weeks until we lose most of the truck and many of the friends i have slowly got to know! i will have 2 extra weeks but it just wont be the same, the money is getting really tight, africa is an expensivly cheap continent. Im really llooking forward to it though, I have a sky dive in namibia and a bungee in (216m – the highest in the world) south africa. a few other fillers too such as wine tours oh and sanddune boarding! like snowboarding on sand! anyway ive forgot what i have told you and what i have not so now its time for some photos but unfortunately i cant put them all up!
click here to see my latest.
something i did forget to say, i have a drum! people have been buying souvenirs enroute but i stayed away because of lack of space etc but when i got to zimbabwe the locals just love to trade. I traded a t shirt that was bought for me on a crazy t shirt night, it was shockin but i told the guy it was worth a tenner threw in a fiver cash and bobs your uncle i had a drum! hopefully it will arrive your way soon dad maybe 2 or 3 weeks yet…..feel free to break it open have a go! get the feel for the boma restaurant where we were dressed up and painted up and given a drum to play along with after out all you can eat meal….with kudu antelope pork beef lamb, i could go forever! see the photo below.
something else i forgot to say…..I FLEW A PLANE!!! we were on a flying safari and i called shot gun ie the front seat, a girl behind shouted so you guna let us have a go? the guy just said yeah sure you can have a go if you like…i was like hell yes!!! we had already decided he was going to throw the plane around a little and when it came to my turn i kept it simple, a couple turns left and right up and down and then just follow the plane in front! man it was awesome. now i just want flying lessons!! unbelievable.
anyway thats all for now i believe…i need to save something to write on the postcards!!
I dont want to leave afric!
We are now in Botswana. No more Zimbabwe politicis and can tell you what it is really like. we entered the country and drove to our first food shop. I’m sure you have heard the stories about a ruined economy and unstable consumer market, it is shocking when yuo actually see it. again im rushing. we walked into a supermarket it was empty i laughed and took a few photos, after all imagine asda was like this, my life for the last 12 months would have been heaven! luckily nothing happened to me, my tent buddy however was not so lucky. i have never seen a group of 25! why? all foreign journalists have been banned from zim for a good while now so we do not potray the country as anything Mugabe does not want. but we were tourists, we took it as interest, the police were having none of it, he was transported to a police station, the whole episode lasted a couple of hours eventually we persuaded the police there was no mallice in any of it and he wsa released, everybody is runing scared there. we can now believe the tale of someone being locked up for talking politics not in favuor of mugabe!
There was no way i wanted to rick that. hence the lack of stories from zim. did you know the exchange rate? 30,000 officially, on the black market it was 350,000 to 1 USD or 700,000 to the pound, by the time we got to the falls it had doubled! 1.4 million zim dollars to the pound, my bag was stacked full of money in 100,000 notes it was awesome! the harsh thing was a beer would be a million zim’s cinema was 60,000 the prices would fluctuate all the time somedays you would get a bargain others you wouldnt but anything! luckily dollars are accepted and they are pretty stable!
Zim was a brilliant place though, the mechanical beasts that were rhinos were amazing, im not sure i can have time to upload photos just yet but now the net is rapid im sure il get anopther chance next week! the landscapes contrast so amazingly from country to country green hills, rocky hills and flat plains between mozambique zim and botswana, and last week in zim a 1000 or so km away it was boiling now its raining in botswana! the cool weather a welcome change.
just 3 weeks untiul cape town and time is flying, so am i tomorrow a flight over the okovango delta, i didnt fancy the canoe trip there is so much on offer, I love this i want to start again!
Hows the weather at home? november rain? we are having some sort of halloween party at some point should be interesting! I need to go time is going, how is everyone reading this? Il post my photos ASAP i promise!
take care!
For all its short comings this place has everything. I told you about the antelope park in Gweru, brilliant, we left the next day and went to a Rhino park called Matobo National Park where we got seriously close to wild rhinos!that was one day, the night was on the train-an experience in itself, this statement crops up a lot but i know why, I’d recommend you did it, but i wouldn’t do it again! it smells its crowded no food we had no electricity or water! but it was fun – reminiscent or zimbabwe’s Hay day. the train brought us here to Victoria Falls – magnificent place even now in low water, but one of the 7 natural wonders of the world will not let you down. Low water means huge rapids, so whitewater rafting was amazing, scarily a girl died doing it last week but all is fine for us-so exciting! then there is bungee sky dive and numerous swings across big gaps oh and a few other cultural bits and pieces here, with zambia a taxi ride away! time is ticking on my internet so sorry for the brevity but i will get some photos uploaded asap and tell you the stories of rafting and more!
this place is amazing!
It’s funny how much happens so unexpectedly in 2 days when you are travelling, 2 days ago i said it would be Botswana when i get back online, and already i am here escaping the blistering heat. we have spent the last couple of days in a private game park, Antelope park, its in Gweru in Zimbabwe. we have had the oppurtunity to do so much but chose to avoid some – the allergy to cats did not force me away from walking with lions. that was awesome. a little canoeing and fishing completed my days, others went horse riding, swimming with elephants, riding elephants, a night stalk with lions as they watch the lioness hunt and kill an animal. all of this is controlled, this place is a conservation area which focuses on breeding and releasing lions back into the wild. the way they do it is also pretty impressive.
stage 1.
the cubs are taken from their mothers after 3 weeks and reared by hand. they are used for cub viewing upto around 18 months and also the walking with lions tour. the lions are pretty tame and interestingly enough treat us a pride as humans have raised them since young. so any interaction with us is the same as would be with an older lion in the natural pride. when young the lions are fed once every 3 days, then when older they are fed once every 7 days and then once every 5 days.
you may think this strange as i did, but at a certain age the trainers are encouraging the lions to hunt for themselves and they do this best when hungry! the lions are watched on night encounters by paying customers, ie us!!
stage 2
the lions are released into a controlled ecosyatem of around 10000 acres everything is controlled, the number of prey (no other predators yet) any diseases can be treated, generally the lions are left to fend for themselves with a little help from afar. the idea of this is to try to piece together a fully functional pride, with social order and hunting teams etc.
stage 3
once succesful the lions are then released into a 20000 acre site with other predators and prey, again controlled but with much less influence. this time the pride is functioning and the goal is for the lions breed naturally, the cubs will then be brought by lions and this becomes a natural pride again. because the original lions are raised by humans they have no fear of us, so this would put them in grave danger when released into a national park which of course in uncontrolled, they would roam to close to farms and campsites and ultimately the lion would be killed. for that reason the original lions are not released into the wild. only the cubs born into stage 3 are released as they are the lions brought up in true natural surroundings.
Clever hey?
thats antelope park, this place is magic. there are some things less so and for that you will have to wait until botswana, that doesnt mean i wont be back online just simply somethings must wait! in the last couple of days a few people have left the trip, they only booked until Harare but we have a few more, in a few days more we will lose again, and again we will gain some more!
I am slowly trying to upload more photos just have to wait and see! just check on my facebook profile!
I cant actually remember what ive said this past week or so but let me go over it again. Once we left zanzibar we drove back to our camp site in Dar es Salaam, gorgeous campsite on the beach with a nice little pool – by little i mean we were doing the one stroke challenge, that is one stroke per length and te how many times can you length it under water, i did 3 (it was small). The campsite had upgrades to some beach huts for $2 USD per night (a quid) but that has been sean as the easy way out, so came the 28 day challenge for camping, no upgrades every day camping – what a ball ache but il do it. im still clinging to my free pillow from the BA flight, resting my head on my gab with the dirtiest hoody yu have ever seen – its comfortable though. much more comfortable than the thermorest that doesnt in flat and i may as well sleep on newspaper. the tent is a pain to put up too. 20 days to go – i think!
We left Dar and headed straight for Malawi, we bush camped somewhere – im not sure where but i know ive told you about that – right in the locals back garden! we crossed in to Malawi and stayed in Chitimba, can’t knock it – i was on cook group that night so had to throw som meat and veg together and come up with a stew, the choices were limited in the local market, beef stew though went down a treat as did eggs to order in the morning! cooking is chore but quite fun once you get the fire going its plain sailing just chopping enough food for 26 people including 1 vegan a couple of veggies and a lactose intolerant! all while camping and cooking on limited gas and mostly charcoal. Did i mention the market was limited in selection!! Chitimba – the showers are cold but im more than used to that now, at least there was water and to be honest the further south we get the colder you want the showers!
2 days later we headed further south following the lake towards a place called Kande beach, popular with backpackers made more busy by the lake of stars festival, ive already talked about this but it really was a good night a random lift home sat in the back of a pick up with a couple of Mancs! doing a small east africa tour solo – the joys of transport out here all to aparent in there tales! Kande beach was a four day rest up again, with a little sport on the beach and most importantly the rugby! i cat believe we beat the aussies – made sweeter by the number of aussies and kiwis on board our trip! the 4 days went a little down hill for me as i realised im not as fit as i thought i was and i can only swim so far, a valuable lesson learned lets leave it at that but it spurs me on more to get in shape.
We left Kande beach, i ignored the masses of wood carvings throughout as i already have a full back pack – less a pair of trainers, still not replaced and still a little cut up about it too! im an idiot! before i continue i just want to say what an amazingly friendly place malawi is, one day i would like to return – we shall see. we went for a meal in the local village, we all sat on a mat and the locals made a massive meal for around 600 malawian kwacha, a couple of quid! afterwards the children danced and sang for us it was really nice as they got most of us up to take part in some party dancing!
so again we left Kande beach, and over the border another exit stamp, a long long drive through no mans land the area between borders usually a few yards but this was maybe a kilometre or so? not to sure who the residents claim residency to! an entry stamp for mozambique (insert a buch camp and polava with passports here, that really was a blur as days blend into one!) oh and addd $45 USD for 21 hours in the country as we transit through to zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is where i am, i will talk more in botswana our next port of call – i have time and money here just prefer to have a full experience before i begin to talk.
things have changed recently 3 have left, 2 have joined, 4 more will leave and 5 more will join i have until the 30th november on the trip then from there who knows? im not sure what i will do i have so many different ideas – il cross bridges when they arise, with one eye on the cash i may slowly push my return date back-but will i work? things change so quickly!
next up the zimbabwean ruins, antelope park, and vic falls! next post? botswana!
Malawi is great! the lake is beautiful and the music festival was good fun too. not much to say really a couple of day drives coming up, here are a few photos from the past few days.
I’ve been away 3 weeks now, this time next week it will be a month – thats mad! time has flown by, still its all been good though. that is except the little illness that ‘made’ me lie on the beach in zanzibar. shame i couldnt really get involved in all the activities i wanted but not to worry i have 8 months and a shed full of countries to dive and snorkel and drink.
last couple of days have been driving days – 8 hours on the road. you might think it draining and tiring, it is! but not boring – you have 23 other people on the same truck so there is always something going on. failing that get yourself up on the ‘beach’ a platform on top of the truck for viewing and of course sun bathing!
one of the nights we had to bush camp, that was literally pullin up on the side of the road and pitching up tents just behind some trees out the sight of trouble. as it was the locals dont miss a thing so i suppose a big yellow truck wasn’t well hidden by a few acacia trees, and when we woke up to find to local lads just stood watching, intrigued – not speaking a word of english we realised we were in their backgarden! a big garden at that. even the local school run was stopped and the little ones would juststare at the muzungus, white person in swahili.
right now im in malawi, famous for madonna adopting that kid – and it has a pretty big lake too. swimming in the still clear waters this morning was amazing but it soon became choppy. there is a music festival going on at the moment and a few of us will head there tomorrow – tonight is just hanging around the fire used to cook dinner, a nice roast pig on a spit. not much else is happening, i know i make it seam trivial but its not – its amazing i love this country once again the children are so friendly you cant go anywhere without wazing and saying hello
people keep asking me what i will do when i get back to the UK, more and more im leaning towards saving a few quid to come back to Africa to spend a couple of months teaching.
the last thing to report? if anyone is passing through Arusha could you please call at messarano snake park and pick up my trainers where i left them to dry, a little too long unfortunately and i think they are still there. so im trainer-less luckily i spent £40 on flip flops a few summers ago and they are still going string, i just hope the last until South Africa
oh yeah, OASIS are that good we decided to extended our trip by 2 weeks through south africa rather than travelling independently, still it will be the 1st Dec when we head for Perth. 2 months away still 
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